A new poll indicates Senate hopeful Meg Whitman has opened up a significant lead in the California GOP primary.

(CNN) – With four days left until California's primary, a new survey indicates that Meg Whitman has a two-to-one lead over her opponent in the battle for the state's Republican gubernatorial nomination.

A Field Poll released Friday morning shows that 51 percent of likely GOP primary voters support former eBay CEO Whitman, while 25 percent back California Insurance Commissioner Steve Poizner. Nearly one in five remain undecided.

The survey indicates that Whitman leads among all subgroups, including age, gender, geography, religion, ideology and Tea Party movement identification.

Whitman held a large lead over Poizner in numerous state polls earlier this year, but more recent surveys indicated that Poizner, a self made multimillionaire, was closing the gap, thanks to commercials questioning Whitman's conservative credentials, her stance on illegal immigration, and her ties to Goldman Sachs.

(CNN) – A Los Angeles chapter of Planned Parenthood is taking on the Republican candidates for governor, accusing them of misleading voters on their views on abortion rights in the final days of the campaign.

In a radio ad airing in the Los Angeles market, the group tells voters, who support abortion rights, to "Say no to Meg Whitman and no to Steve Poizner." The $100,000 buy from the Planned Parenthood Affiliates of California, says neither candidate agreed to meet with the statewide group or support their mission.

"Both candidates claim they support choice and both have attacked each other for that same support," said Kathy Kneer, president and CEO of Planned Parenthood affiliates of California.

Meg Whitman's very large lead over Steve Poizner in the battle for the California Republican gubernatorial nomination has dramatically shrunk, according to a new poll.

(CNN) - Meg Whitman's very large lead over Steve Poizner in the battle for the California Republican gubernatorial nomination has dramatically shrunk, according to a new poll.

A Public Policy Institute of California (PPIC) survey released early Thursday morning indicates that 38 percent of likely GOP primary voters back Whitman, a former eBay CEO who served as an adviser and surrogate for Sen. John McCain's 2008 presidential campaign, with 29 percent backing California Insurance Commissioner Steve Poizner. A large number of voters, 31 percent, are undecided.

Whitman's nine point advantage is down from a 50 point lead in a PPIC poll conducted in March.

Poizner has attacked Whitman in recent weeks with a barrage of commercials questioning her conservative credentials, her poor voting record, and her links to Goldman Sachs.

GOP gubernatorial contender Steve Poizner accuses his rival, Meg Whitman of siding with President Obama on immigration in a new ad.

(CNN) - One of the Republicans seeking the GOP gubernatorial nomination in California is accusing his primary rival of standing with President Obama on the hot button issue of immigration.

California State Insurance Commissioner Steve Poizner takes a hard line on immigration in a new 30-second television spot, which will air on broadcast and cable in markets throughout the state, according to Poizner's campaign.

"Who has the courage and values to stand up to illegal immigration?" one narrator asks.

The conversing narrators note that Poizner supports Arizona's controversial new immigration law and that he "opposes amnesty" and "will cut off benefits to illegal's, saving millions."

The immigration plan being pushed by Senate Democrats includes a process to legalize an estimated 10.8 million illegal immigrants in the United States. It states that all illegal immigrants living in the United States would be required to "come forward to register, be screened, and, if eligible, complete other requirements to earn legal status, including paying taxes."

(CNN) - The Republicans sparring for their party’s gubernatorial nod in California released dueling ads Wednesday that challenge one another’s conservative credentials.

California State Insurance Commissioner Steve Poizner and former eBay CEO Meg Whitman have been engaged in a nasty primary battle that will come to an end on June 8 when Californians go to the polls.

In its latest salvo, Poizner’s camp says Whitman would prolong Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's policies. To make this point, Poizner’s new ad shows an image of Schwarzenegger's face as it morphs into Whitman's.

Rep. Tom McClintock, who endorsed Poizner early last month, also appears in the new ad.

"More spending, more environmental extremism, more bailouts at our expense," McClintock says. "I've watched Steve Poizner fight big government and I trust him. This isn't a close call, there's only one conservative in this race and his name is Steve Poizner."

Whitman’s campaign pushed back at the notion that she would continue the policies of the current governor.

"Strangely the only candidate in this race who has ever likened himself a 'Schwarzenegger Republican' is Steve Poizner," Whitman spokeswoman Sarah Pompei said in a statement.

Accusing Poizner of leading the state into a financial crisis, Whitman's campaign released its own ad Wednesday.

With less than two months to go until the primary, State Insurance Commissioner Steve Poizner has put out a tough new television commercial critical of his opponent, former eBay CEO Meg Whitman.

The ad's narrator says that Whitman "supports taxpayer funding for abortion. Do you? Whitman campaigned and contributed to Barbara Boxer. Did you? Whitman campaigned for the disastrous bailout that saved Goldman Sachs. Did you? Whitman supports the Obama amnesty plan for illegal immigrants. Did you?"

Tucker Bounds, the Whitman campaign's spokesman, responded to the ad in comments to CNN.

"The question we all know the answer to is: Why did he? Why did Steve Poizner work to undermine Proposition 13, supporting $40 billion in higher taxes? Why did Steve Poizner contribute $21,000 to elect Al Gore and overturn the legal election of George W. Bush? Why is Steve Poizner the only candidate in the race to have ever supported partial birth abortion? Why did Steve Poizner spend over $2,000,000 on new cars at the Department of Insurance during an economic downturn? Because Steve Poizner is a liberal you can't trust," Bounds said.

Poizner, the state's insurance commissioner, faces a 28 to 30 point deficit in a head-to-head matchups with Whitman, according to two surveys conducted in January. But the same poll showed nearly 4 in 10 Republican primary voters undecided. The primary is set for June 8.

Whitman, the billionaire former CEO of Ebay has run campaign ads for months introducing herself to voters and positioning herself as a moderate Republican.

Washington (CNN) - Two conservative candidates for statewide office in California came to the nation's capital on Friday to take aim at their state, which they said is suffocating in taxes and regulation, and to hold themselves out as its saviors.

“We are the laboratory of every horrific government lab experiment in America,” Chuck DeVore thundered before a stirred-up audience at the Conservative Political Action Conference, a three-day event showcasing hard-right ideas and players.

DeVore, a member of the California Assembly, is seeking the Republican nomination for U.S. Senate.

He conjured Ronald Reagan, who he said was an example of the good that California has produced. DeVore also cited what he termed as the bad – Democratic lawmakers Barbara Boxer, who he wants to unseat, and Nancy Pelosi, the House Speaker.FULL POST

(CNN) – A top aide to a California Republican gubernatorial candidate called into question a rival candidate's "mental condition" Monday, in what has become an increasingly bitter battle for the GOP nomination.

Mike Murphy, a political adviser to former EBay CEO Meg Whitman, was responding to an accusation by California Insurance Commissioner Steve Poizner, who accused Murphy of "intimidation tactics" in an effort to convince him to drop out of the race.

"[A]ll I can say is that I'm starting to worry about Commissioner's mental condition," Murphy said in a statement.

Specifically, the Poizner campaign said that Murphy contacted a senior member of Poizner's political staff to try and convince the commissioner to leave the race and focus on challenging Democratic Sen. Dianne Feinstein in 2012. The Poizner campaign added that Murphy sent an e-mail after the telephone call suggesting Whitman was willing to spend tens of millions of dollars "'tearing up'" Poizner.

(CNN) – A top aide to a California Republican gubernatorial candidate called into question a rival candidate's "mental condition" Monday, in what has become an increasingly bitter battle for the GOP nomination.

Mike Murphy, a political adviser to former EBay CEO Meg Whitman, was responding to an accusation by California Insurance Commissioner Steve Poizner, who accused Murphy of "intimidation tactics" in an effort to convince him to drop out of the race.

"[A]ll I can say is that I'm starting to worry about Commissioner's mental condition," Murphy said in a statement.

Specifically, the Poizner campaign said that Murphy contacted a senior member of Poizner's political staff to try and convince the commissioner to leave the race and focus on challenging Democratic Sen. Dianne Feinstein in 2012. The Poizner campaign added that Murphy sent an e-mail after the telephone call suggesting Whitman was willing to spend tens of millions of dollars "'tearing up'" Poizner.FULL POST